“Oh.” His own voice held wonder. “Oh my.”
His fingers ran over that delicate area, both for sensuality and his own curious exploration. With a happy sigh, he removed the underwear altogether and carefully spread my thighs apart. Then, his mouth was upon me, his tongue running along that most sensitive of spots in one smooth motion.
It was like a spark to a powder keg. My whole body bucked up as heat exploded throughout me, and I made some sound vaguely like a whimper. Both of his hands slid up and held me firmly in place, reminding me again that I’d given up the power here. That same conflicting mix of fear and need flared up inside of me, scared that he could do anything he wanted to me and half-hoping he would.
When he grew convinced I wouldn’t thrash anymore, he let one hand slide back to my thighs. His mouth had never stopped in its fervent feeding, and now his fingers moved in, pushing into me with smooth motions timed to work with his mouth. I moaned against his touch, my head thrown back and upper body arched. He had an uncanny knack for pulling back each time orgasm was about to occur. So, when he finally allowed me that release, it almost caught me by surprise.
My flesh ignited, electric and glorious. I shivered as my muscles contracted, as that scorching ecstasy poured through my body. Even when that tide broke, he kept his mouth down there licking and probing until I begged him to stop, too overcome by the flood of sensation. He took his time in obeying the request, finally moving away and laying his body on top of mine.
Every part of him pressed against me, hard and wonderful, and I writhed under him, yearning for more. He moved his hands back up to my arms, again firmly pinning me in place. His mouth crushed mine, forcing me to taste myself on his lips. Struggling did no good.
When he released me from the kiss at last, his face moved only a fraction of an inch away from mine.
“I know why you’re doing this,” he said. “Why you wanted to be bound. It’s because you want the decision taken out of your hands. You knew once you were here, there’d be no turning back. You wouldn’t have to be burdened with the decision of willfully coming together with me. You would have no choice in the matter and hence relieve yourself of any guilt or anticipation.”
He kissed my cheek and then lingered on my ear a little. “In a moment, I swear I can ravage and take you as much as you want, if that’s what makes it easier. But your choices aren’t gone yet. We can stop if you want. Or I can untie you. You can tell me you want this and join with me not in submission, but as an equal.”
The words were on my lips. Yes, untie me. Make love to me. Fuck me. I want to be with you. I could have said any number of things to change the balance of power. I could have gained both control and freedom again. Yet, I said or did nothing. Maybe it was because it was the only way I could go through with this. Or maybe I just wanted it this way. Maybe I even enjoyed it. Regardless, I stayed quiet, and he read the answer in that.
He rose up, looming over me. He was a conqueror, coming to collect, and I was a prize, open flesh waiting to be seized. That fear lurched up in me, and I thrived on it. It was delicious. Thrilling. I gave up my power. I gave myself to him.
Almost on his knees, he spread my legs apart and pushed in. I screamed, almost more from mental than physical sensation, my arms straining uselessly against the ties. He filled me, punctuating each powerful movement into me with a soft grunt in his throat I thought even he wasn’t aware of.
I wanted to reach up and wrap my arms around him, pull him against me. But all I could do was lay there, lay there and let him push into me over and over, the enemy I’d somehow come to crave.
He shifted his body so that he was completely on top of me, still moving urgently and possessively, save that now I had even less mobility than before. He held me down, grip tight. And me? I was all aching and burning flesh, letting him take whatever he wanted from me. I floated in a warm, liquid place. It was like being wrapped in golden silk, molten bliss spreading over my body.
“I told you,” he said through his labored breathing. “I told you you’d come to me. And now…now I realize I could have simply taken you the instant I’d tied you up. You didn’t need any of the rest. You’ve had this desire and never even known it…this desire to simply be had in any way your lover wanted.” He paused a moment, swallowing and catching his breath. “I’m right, aren’t I? I could move you into any position I wanted, make love to you in any place I wanted, and you’d love every moment of it…”
I couldn’t really manage any coherent answers, and most of my noises had lapsed into primal, unintelligible cries. All I wanted to focus on was us being together, the way it felt to have him pushing and rubbing, the way it must feel for him to be inside of me. I’d slid up on the bed; my head was practically in danger of hitting the headboard soon.
Suddenly, he pulled out abruptly and hovered back over me. His eyes, dark in this light, watched me, and I sensed that laconic, playful expression on his face. Both of us panted. I waited for him to return, feeling irate at this interruption. I’d been on the verge of coming again. Somehow I suspected he’d known that.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting. Waiting for you to tell me to keep going.”
He wasn’t being cruel or mean. He was teasing me, toying with me the way he so enjoyed among the people around here.
“You fucking bastard,” I said. Somehow the profanity carried mild affection.
He laughed. “Should I take that to mean you want me to continue?”
“You know I do.”
“Then say it outright. Unless you’re going to get up and take me yourself.”
“Did I mention you’re a bastard?”
“Tell me you don’t want me to stop. Beg me. Beg me, and we’ll do this for the rest of the night.”
It was merely a game, another dimension of this power play and his dominance over me. And, much to my chagrin, it was a turn-on.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Please what?”
“Please…don’t stop. I want…I want you to keep…”
“Keep what?”
I sighed. “I want you to keep fucking me.”
He was back in me almost before the words had left my lips. I yelled out again as moments later, the delayed orgasm exploded in me. I shook and burned as that glittering sensation crackled through me. All the while, our bodies kept moving together. His face was near mine, watching with pleasure as I panted and struggled against a joy that was almost too intense.
“I hate you,” I gasped out.
He laughed and rained kisses down on my face. “No, you don’t.”
He was right.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I know what you’re thinking.”
I stretched my arms above me, tucking my hands between my head and the pillow. Sunlight poured over me from the giant window but did little to help my troubled mood. I’d been sullen and quiet all morning. “Not likely.”
Dorian reached over to a tray of assorted pastries and sweets that had been sitting by the bed when we awoke. That and the newly built-up fire were only a couple of signs that tidying servants had been up and around in here. Their presence shouldn’t have bothered me; everyone had already believed Dorian and I were sleeping together. Yet, knowing others had moved around us while we slept still felt odd.
He popped a marzipan-stuffed tartlet into my mouth. I made a surprised sound but ate it anyway. He had excellent cooks. “Well, then, let me guess anyway. I do so love trying to reason out your thoughts.”
He grinned at me, every inch the lighthearted and frivolous man I usually knew. He bore almost no trace of the impassioned lover from last night, the one who’d repeatedly told me in explicit detail exactly what he could do to me if he wanted-and then proved that he could.
I rolled to my side, putting my back to him. “Knock yourself out.”